Page 38 of Prairie Nights

Whitney let out a long breath, her words and explanations obviously not getting past Hayden’s stubbornness. “You can’t ask that of him. Ever is still on bed rest and they’re going to be on baby watch. Ever is due early May and with twins being unpredictable, they could very easily arrive early.”

“Then I’ll close the store for a few days,” he replied insistently, not wanting to budge.

Whitney rolled her eyes at him and met his gaze, irritated by his inability to reason. “Hayden, no. You have a business; your business pays your bills. It’s not good for a business to just randomly shut down every time something comes up.”

“Isn’t that up to me to determine? Unless you don’t want me to be there with you?” he asked, frustratedly climbing out of bed.

“That’s not what I’m saying, but you need to be logical and listen to me,” Whitney stressed, following him with her imploring eyes. “I can deal with this on my own. I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor right now.”

Hayden gave her an exasperated look, shadows of concern in their depths. “Paul is going to be there, and you’re likely going to have to take the stand. What if he tries something? What if he tries to talk to you or get close to you?”

“He’s not going to be able to get close to me.”

Hayden swallowed down hard, his eyes imploring her. “I can’t let you deal with this alone.”

“You can’t let me?” she asked, her voice becoming shrill as her annoyance peaked. “Since when do you have a say in what I do? Before you, Hayden, I was a very independent woman and did everything on my own. I built my life back up after my marriage, with next to no help from anyone.”

“I realize that, but why won’t you just concede and let me be there to protect you?” he asked, raising his voice in frustration.

“Because this is something I need to do on my own,” she whispered, tears of frustration welling up. “I need to face my past and get some closure.”

Hayden stared at her and shook his head, then turned towards the door.

“Where are you going?” she asked in surprise.

“To watch TV. I’m suddenly not tired,” he answered gruffly and walked out, closing the door behind him.

That night Hayden didn’t come back to bed and, for the first time since they had been together, they didn’t fall asleep in each other's arms.

CHAPTER 13

Hayden hadn’t slept properly in days, his argument with Whitney weighing heavy on his heart. Thinking back, he was aware of how he overreacted and that he made her cry, made guilt sit like a stone in his stomach. He had promised her he would never intentionally hurt her and although it was normal for couples to have their disagreements, the fact that he let his own stubbornness go that far, causing her pain, was unacceptable.

The hardware store door chimed, and he glanced to the entrance to see Bea Baxter enter. Spotting him, she walked over to where he was stocking a shelf and gave him a hearty punch in the arm.

“Hey there Hay Bale!”

“Hey Bea.” he replied, in a wary tone as he feigned a smile.

Bea put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, giving him a once over as she asked,“Why so glum, chum?”

Hayden shook his head, not wanting to answer her, and continued with his task of stocking the shelves.

“If you don’t spill, I’m going to have to text Ben, or perhaps Whitney.” Bea threatened playfully as she pulled out her phone, making a show of texting someone.

“Please don’t,” he answered. “Whitney’s upset with me right now.”

Stuffing her phone back in her pocket, Bea offered him a frown. “Trouble in paradise?”

“You could say that,” he answered, walking back to the counter. “Whitney leaves for Toronto next week for the court hearing and insists I stay back here.”

“Oh, so she doesn’t want you to go with her?” Bea asked, leaning over the counter.

“She says she needs to deal with this on her own.”

Bea stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. “I understand that. Did you get all protective caveman on her?”

Hayden met her inquiring eyes as he nodded.

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